Articles filed under Taxes & Subsidies from Massachusetts

A September report from Bank of America Merrill Lynch indicated that the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management would approve projects like Vineyard Wind in a timely manner, Beane said. The report said timing of permitting affects whether offshore wind developers can take advantage of federal investment tax credits that are expected to expire in 2024.

The Vineyard Wind project is split into two, 400-megawatt phases, with the first phase scheduled for completion by January 15, 2022, and the second phase by January 15, 2023. The price for energy and the environmental attributes (called renewable energy credits) starts at 7.4 cents a kilowatt hour in phase one and 6.5 cents a kilowatt hour in phase two. The prices escalate at 2.5 percent a year over the 20-year life of the contract, with an average blended cost of 8.9 cents a kilowatt hour.

“The department concedes that customers taking net metering services directly receive the benefits of the net metering system,” the DPU said in its ruling. “The costs of net metering, however, are borne by all electric customers, whether or not they receive net metering credits. Consequently, there is a transfer of costs rooted in the net metering system.”

The Massachusetts Clean Water Trust Board of Trustees voted Wednesday, August 2, to convert what was a conditional $4.86 million grant to the town into a loan. The money, originally stemming from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, came to Falmouth through the trust to pay for construction of the second turbine, known as Wind 2

To control costs, the state restricts the amount of solar power that can be financed in this way, and state officials informed the industry on Friday that the cap has been hit. There was essentially a run on these certificates in recent weeks, as solar panel builders rushed to get in line on behalf of their customers as the cap drew near.

The typical price of a tax equity investment for an on-shore project that carries no debt is between 7.5 and 8.5 percent. By adding debt to the project, the range increases to the mid teens. ...“Admittedly it is being built by Siemens but there are also a lot of local contractors. ...It’s complex, so that would make any first time investor in the offshore industry nervous. So that puts your price of tax equity north of the mid teens, which makes it incredibly expensive."

Rodgers said the contract was the result of prolonged negotiations, and said the timing of the announcement was not related to the expiration of the federal tax credit. He declined to say if Cape Wind would be eligible for the tax credit without the cost of the contract. The tax credit, if awarded, could pay for 30 percent of construction costs.

Just days before an important deadline to qualify for crucial federal tax credits, Cape Wind has signed a deal with Siemens to build the project's turbines and an electric service platform to convert its power for transmission.

Parker hopes that Cape Wind can't find lenders to help pay the more than $2 billion it will take to build 130 wind turbines, each one rising more than 400 feet out of Nantucket Sound. Cape Wind at one point said they would have no problem borrowing money to build the wind farm if the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities approved generous agreements with power companies.

In a statement released Tuesday, officials with PensionDanmark -- a nonprofit labor market pension fund with $24.7 billion in assets -- said they would provide a mezzanine loan for the offshore wind project planned for Nantucket Sound. In its press release, PensionDanmark states that its commitment is conditional on a final investment decision that will be made by the end of the year.

It took an energy insider this past week to expose the dirty little truth about the future of wind energy - it's too costly, too unreliable and only getting more so because of government subsidies. Take that, you green zealots.

Barton said that in order for Cape Wind to be eligible for the federal tax credit, it must "commence construction" before the end of the year, but the federal government has not yet clarified what exactly commencing construction means. ...Cape Wind may have to place the monopilings, or foundations, of at least some of the project's 130-turbines before the Jan. 1 deadline.

Cape Wind is expected to use the investment tax credit, which gives developers the option of recovering 30 percent of the cost of new equipment for a project with the exception of transmission infrastructure.

We cannot evaluate the efficacy of federal spending programs by asking the recipients of federal largesse whether they are happy with the money. Of course they are happy! The real issue is whether American taxpayers and electricity ratepayers should be happy.

Facing delisting from the Nasdaq for its rock-bottom stock price, the Tyngsboro, Mass. maker of smart grid technology has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, following California-based Solyndra as another U.S. government-backed alternative energy company now seeking protection from creditors.

The Economic Assistance Coordinating Council, which oversees tax breaks in Massachusetts, voted to end Evergreen's 20-year property tax break, and voided another $7.5 million in state tax credits after the company eliminated the jobs it had promised to create

"The incentive program is a two-way agreement,'' said Greg Bialecki, secretary of housing and economic development. "If a company does not meet its commitments, then there are consequences.'' In exchange for the property tax break and tax credits, Evergreen had promised to retain 310 existing jobs and add 350 new ones.

The department said that with the multibillion dollar loan program's September expiration date approaching, remaining funds would be used on projects whose applications were further along. "This is not a statement about the quality of your project, but simply about its readiness to proceed at this time."

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